Central dictation systems utilizing digital storage of voice files are known. An example of such a system is the Digital Express System DX7000, sold by Dictaphone Corporation, described in British specification 2,201,863, published Sept. 7, 1988, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,085; application Ser. No. 07/455,889. Such a system is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,077.
In typical usage of such a system, an author creates a voice file by dictating into a dictation terminal. The terminal includes a capability for editing the dictated material. That is, the author is able to insert new material into the file he is creating or to delete material from the file. The terminal also frequently includes a keypad by which the author can enter data relating to the voice file. It is well known for such system to support use of a standard tone pad telephone as a dictation terminal.
After the author has completed creation of a voice file, the recorded file is accessed by a transcriptionist. The file is played back to the transcriptionist, who uses a word processor or the like to prepare a text or document corresponding to the voice file.
It is also a known feature of digital dictation systems to permit access to recorded dictation files by an authorized listener or listeners. Such a listener can review the file before, during or after transcription or in lieu of transcription.
Central dictation systems (sometimes also known as "voice processing systems") have proved to be an efficient way for authors to initiate creation of documents. However, some authors find that they need to produce repetitively very similar documents or to construct documents following a prescribed format or to construct documents which contain repetitive sections. Examples of such documents are radiology reports, police reports, and legal documents. It is known for authors to direct a transcriptionist to transcribe a standard prerecorded voice file. Nevertheless, it is desired that more flexible and convenient ways be found for authors to produce repetitively documents of the types described above.